I have kind of a stupid question on Christianity:

[SmileyBoy]

Now, I'm a practicing Muslim, so I never was involved in anything even remotely Christian/Catholic/Protestant growing up, so bear with me on this one.

OK, so I was wondering, do Protestants also have communion (or as Dane Cook calls it, "snack time") like Catholics do, or do Protestants reject the idea of communion like they do of the Pope and the countless saints??

I was wondering this, because I really don't know. If anyone knows, thanks.

[salib]

1. Try google

http://wordalone.org/resources/Kundgebung.html

[notadmblnd]

2. They take communion, but not exactly like the catholics

because most protestants don't believe in alcohol, grape juice is used instead of wine, and everyone get's their own little shot glass full they dondt have to drink out of the same (possibly bacterial laden cup).

I was raised baptist and footwashing was also a part of the communion ritual. The men are separated from the women and everyone washes each others feet. It was done to show humility.

[sir_captain]

18. Plenty of protestants use wine

Episcopalians for instance.

The real difference is that they don't believe that the wafer is literally christ's body.

[KitchenWitch]

3. Many protestants celebrate communion

But I do not think they believe it is the actual body and blood of Christ like Catholics do. It is more of a "communal meal" with the church type thing.

[progressoid]

4. It varies from denomination to denomination

Some do it every week, some just on holidays.
Some use unleavened bread, others use Wonder Bread.
Some drink wine, others drink grape juice.
For some its a serious spiritual ritual, for others its just an homage to tradition.

[Robeson]

5. Yes, its with crackers and Welch's grape juice.....

...I grew up Presbyterian, but am no longer religious. As a kid, I just wanted to eat more of the crackers, and have a bigger serving of the grape juice. It really held no significance to me.

[Jack Rabbit]

6. That depends on which Protestants your taking about

Most take Communion, but have different beliefs about it than do Roman Catholics. Catholics believe that a miracle takes place during Communion and the bread an wine actually turns into the body and blood of Christ. Martin Luther taught that the spirit of Christ enters the bread and wine, but that otherwise it reamins bread and wine. John Calvin regarded Communion as a symbolic re-enactment of the Last Supper in which no miracle takes place at all.

[regnaD kciN]

30. Almost...

John Calvin regarded Communion as a symbolic re-enactment of the Last Supper in which no miracle takes place at all.

As I understand Calvin's eucharistic doctrine, the bread and wine remain bread and wine; however, at the moment of receiving them, the communicant simultaneously receives the grace of Christ's body and blood poured into their souls by God.

Zwingli, on the other hand, just saw it as a memorial re-enactment without being a means of grace.

[Longgrain]

7. For some denominations it's a once a year thing...

Other's like Catholic and Greek Orthodox do it weekly, or even daily.

[tammywammy]

8. I grew up Methodist

We had communion the first Sunday of each month, plus days like Easter, Christmas, etc.

On Easter and Christmas we did a loaf of bread and 1 cup. We'd line up row by row, tear a piece of bread off the load, eat it, and then take a sip of wine from the one glass.

The rest of the year they'd pass around plates with bread already cut into little cubes and little thimbles of wine. It was either wine or grape juice.

We believe it's a symbolic blood and body of Christ, while I think Catholics believe it's the actual blood and body of Christ.

And never feel bad about asking questions, it's the only way to learn.

[Yupster]

9. I'm still Methodist, and

we pretty much still do it the same way you describe.

I must admit to a big-eyed stare at the term "snack time" in the original poster's comment.

To many Christians (not so much Methodists), communion is an incredibly important event. You'd think a practicing Muslim would be a little more respecting of other people's religious beliefs than using or repeating a term like "snack time."

I know if someone made a similar demeaning comment to a Muslim belief or practice, they'd be thoroughly thrashed on this thread for a whole evening.

So, consider this a thorough thrashing.

[Robeson]

11. The original poster didn't say that. He mentioned a quote, in which...

...someone else said that. The original poster was simply inquiring as to what it meant to protestants.

[Yupster]

29. That's why I said

"or repeating" term like snack time.

[xmas74]

15. I attend a Methodist church

and we dip the bread in the wine (the current one is real wine). The last Methodist church I went to did the same thing-dipping the bread in the wine (but that was actually grape juice instead). We tear off a small piece of the loaf of bread and dip it.
What I do like is that all are invited to participate-not just Methodists.

[tammywammy]

20. Yes, the church I grew up in was welcoming too

Everyone can participate in communion. You don't need to be a "member" of the church or methodist.

And I do remember now, we dipped the bread in the wine sometimes. I remember I tore off a piece that was too small once...but I didn't want to tear off another piece.

[On the Road]

10. One Additional Difference

is that Roman Catholics have a truncated version of communion in which only the bread is served in the form of a small flat wafer. The wine was discontinued in medieval times because it was believed to be the physical blood of Jesus, and it was deeply disturbing when any part of it was spilled on the ground. All the bread and wine has to be consumed by humans; none of it can be thrown away.

Communion is one of only two holy sacraments in Protestantism. The other is Baptism. In addition, Roman Catholics have Confirmation, Penance, Extreme Unction, Orders, and Matrimony.

[carpetbagger]

12. Points of clarification

Catholics still take wine. Currently, the most common way is by intinction (dipping the wafer in the wine), but that's mostly due to the current fear of germs. Up until a few years ago, it was at least as common to be given a sip out of a communal cup.

Protestants vary from church to church as to whether they consider other acts to be sacraments. Most Protestants baptized as infants undergo confirmation. Matrimony is typically considered a sacrament. Orders (of priesthood, etc) are considered sacraments in most churches that follow some apostolic (descended from the original disciples of Jesus) tradition, e.g. Episcopals and Methodists.

[Beware the Beast Man]

16. I've only seen intinction in my grandmother's church.

She was Ukranian Catholic, and they hold many traditions that are more common in the Eastern churches.

[On the Road]

17. My Information May Outdated by Quite a Bit

and the tradition of two sacrements started with Luther. Various Protestant denominations may have subsequently changed that.

[Dervill Crow]

13. Lutherans have communion.

It's not the same belief as the Catholics (transubstantiation) that the bread and wine actually turn into the body and blood of Christ; at least in the Missouri Synod Lutheran church they believe in consubstantiation, which is that the body and blood of Christ is present "in and under the bread and wine." It's kind of weird, but it seemed to make sense to me when I was taking Christianity 101 (it was really called that) before joining the church.

I do know that the wine we had at communion was the best wine I've ever tasted.

[Beware the Beast Man]

14. Unlike Catholicism, communion in Protestant denominations is symbolic

of the blood and body of Christ. As a Catholic, I still have a tough time with the whole transubstantiation thing.

[sir_captain]

19. Bingo

this is the real difference. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

[RevCheesehead]

23. no,

Bingo is often a fundraiser, or simple entertainment. :)

[sir_captain]

Ok, you got me there

:P

[barackmyworld]

21. My Protestant church had communion

It was a non-denominational church, but Protestant in orientation. The Communion was once a month, and it had the same meaning--"blood and body of Christ"

But they didn't make any rules about who could or could not accept it.

[RevCheesehead]

22. Most protestant denominations have two sacraments:

Baptism and Communion.

The mode of baptism varies (sprinke, pour, immerse), as does its practice (infant, or "believer's" baptism).

Communion (also Eucharist = Thanksgiving, or The Lord's Supper) is the other sacrament.

Methodists started using grape juice in the 19th century, as a response to the Temperence Movement. In fact, Welch's grape juice was developed by a Methodist who wanted a "non-alcoholic" version.

The practice of Communion varies, not only by denomination, but also by region/area of the country. Generally, you need two things: bread, and juice/wine.
* bread = wafers, unleavened bread, loaf, cubes (in one of my churches, they used oyster crackers - ick.)
* wine/juice = sherry, Manishevitz, grape juice (sometimes I use either red or white grape juice).

As to the theology, protestants reject transsubstantiation (that the bread/wine changes into physical body/blood). Some say it is a symbolic representation. Others see it as a memorial meal, as a sad time to remember Christ's sacrifice for us (and our unworthiness: lots of sin/guilt here). Current theology tends to see it as a meal of thanksgiving - not just for the death of Christ, but for his resurrection and our promise of new life. Gratitude takes the place of guilt, and one contemplates the present and future more than remembers the past.

One of the best explanations (and the one I believe) is that in taking communion, the elements are symbols of something bigger which is happening: Through the work of the Holy Spirit, when we partake of communion, we ourselves become the body of Christ, so that we can become Christ's body in the world. This idea also uses Paul's imagery of Christ as the head of the body, and all people are various parts of the same one body (see Romans 12, and 1 Corinthians 12).

[KitchenWitch]

25. Thanks for the details

I grew up Catholic, and the whole transsubstantiation thing absolutely grossed me out.

[RevCheesehead]

26. It is a major point of disagreement in ecumenical talks.

Most Christian denominations have come to an agreement on the basics of communion, allowing for an "open table" - that is, allowing any who believes to participate. Official Catholic doctrine still holds fast to transsubstantiation. They also maintain a closed table (although some priests willingly look the other way).

I agree, the idea is rather grotesque. In the ancient church, followers were accused by outsiders of practicing cannibalism. This is what happens when fundamental literalists get control.

[regnaD kciN]

31. Not gross if you understand it correctly...

Transubstantiation is based on Aristotelian categories of being. For Aristotle and his followers, everything had a "substance" (its inner essence) and "accidents" (those non-essential things that make up what the senses take in). For example, a baby's high chair and a beanbag both have the "substance" of chair, even if they differ so completely in "accidents" that someone, looking at them, would have a hard time finding any commonality by sensory impression.

According to the doctrine of transubstantiation, the bread and wine take on the "substance" (tran-SUBSTAN-tiation) of Christ's Body and Blood, while all the "accidents" (i.e. anything that affects the senses: taste, touch, appearance, etc.) remain that of bread and wine.

It should also be remembered that the "Body and Blood" refer to that belonging to Christ's risen and glorified post-Resurrection body (a body that has been described as "transphysical"), not to the earthly body Christ bore until his Crucifixion.

[Name removed]

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[RevCheesehead]

27. Thank you for insulting my faith - and my vocation.

(and if you're kidding, it isn't obvious, nor is it funny.)

[Name removed]

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